I had the distinct pleasure of storming Normandy with Lieutenant Thornburg. And while one could argue the success of this content management system (CMS) selecting campaign nobody could argue the need for a CMS. Publishing content without a CMS is as simple as shaving with a spoon. So taking Ryan’s warning seriously, what do we do if we have to proceed with storming the beaches?
Here are two points to consider among MANY for selecting a CMS for your newsroom:
Newsroom Size and Function: Look around your newsroom. Are you a 10 person shop with little technical know-how? Are you a 30+ outfit with a diverse range of publishing and technical skills? Keep a clear understanding of who will be working with these systems and what they’ll need to achieve as a final publication. Will you need deep support and training? Do you have a need for more sophisticated approval processes or “workflow” capabilities?
The Publication Itself: Get a strong understanding of what your final publication must be. Knowing the nuances of your publication will make selecting a CMS more tolerable. Are you publishing primarily text? Probably not. Video and multimedia a part of the mix? With the advent and growth of social networks, is your newsroom getting more involved with micro blogging? All of these content types and actions can be a part of your CMS’s feature set.
Get very comfortable with your publication down to what you want to display on every template and think about how you will manage it. This is very important to stave off surprises. Some painful examples questions I’ve heard: “What do you mean every article on the entire site must have the exact same sidebar? What do you mean my producers will have to hand code a majority of ever template?”
Lastly be wary of a common misconception that open source CMS’s are cheaper. What you save in licensing costs of a purchased CMS you may have to spend in custom development and time on an open source CMS. Some licensed CMS’s have all of the features and functions you need, are already battle tested, and will have one perk open source CMS’s won’t… the phone number of the person to call and scream at when the CMS suddenly doesn’t do what you need. This isn’t to say open source is bad. Just do your homework, know what you need, and consider all options.
Your CMS will feed your publication and should be considered an integral part of the newsroom for the editorial, technical, and sales staffs. It’s the tool that allows you to concentrate on what’s important, the content itself.
As an aside there’s a TON more to discuss on this topic. I wrote this in response to Ryan Thornburg’s entry, “Why Do We Need a CMS?”
